Visual media news and updates from Visual Connections

Fotofinder Enhances Search with Similar Image Search

Fotofinder's new Similarity Search helps creative image researchers find the right images instantly by matching shapes, colors and atmosphere, instead of using lengthy and repetitive keyword searches. Starting with either the best match from a keyword search or an uploaded image, Similarity Search will seek out similar images from Fotofinder’s 7.5 million images.

Young Photographers Alliance Gala Awards Ceremony

The Young Photographers Alliance will hold its first Gala Awards Ceremony and Benefit Auction on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009, the evening before Picturehouse New York, at the Metropolitan Pavilion. Awards will be presented to scholarship winners by distinguished photographers – including Mary Ellen Mark, Mark Seliger, Fred Conrad – and industry professionals – Lauren Wendle, VP/Publisher PDN and Mark Randall/World Studio. The Benefit Auction will include original signed prints from international and noteworthy photographers, alongside new prints from the YPA scholarship winners. Photographers contributing work include: Joyce Tenneson, Martin Parr, Arthur Meyerson, Pete Turner, Stephen Mallon, Frank Micelotta, Jill Enfield, Jim Brandenburg and many others.

Royalty Free Maps Now in High-Res JPEG, EPS & PPT Format

Map Resources, the largest purveyor of royalty free stock maps, is now making its collection of royalty-free maps available in high-resolution JPEG, EPS and PowerPoint format. The new maps expand the audience for digital map files by offering map formats compatible with all graphics applications.

New York Eagerly Anticipates the Ninth Picturehouse Event

October 14th is when image buyers will get their next opportunity to meet face to face with stock photo and footage agencies, assignment photographers and reps. Moving next door into a larger venue, the Metropolitan Pavilion, Picturehouse New York will this year include a seminar on copyright, followed by discussion sessions, led by industry experts, on using footage, understanding pricing models, searching efficiently, and more.

Art Resource Selected by LACMA to be Exclusive Image Rights Representative

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) joins a growing roster of over 130 major museums for which Art Resource is the exclusive representative. With more than 100,000 objects dating from ancient times to the present, LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States. LACMA’s collections encompass virtually the entire history of art. Among the museum’s special strengths are its holdings of Asian art, Latin American art (ranging from pre-Columbian masterpieces to works by leading modern and contemporary artists including Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Jesús Rafael Soto, and Francis Alÿs), and Islamic art, of which LACMA hosts one of the most significant collections in the world. LACMA also boasts impressive collections of European and American painting, sculpture and decorative arts, as well as a strong collection of modern and contemporary art. LACMA’s collections will now be available for easy licensing through Art Resource.

The Art Archive to represent National Geographic Society photo archives

The Art Archive is delighted to announce its exclusive representation of the historic National Geographic Society photographic archives, 1896 – 1953. The National Geographic Magazine remains arguably the single most important uninterrupted visual record of the peoples, places and developments of the twentieth century. From beautiful and moving portraits of people of all races and creeds to quaint, polished and posed 40s and 50s-style American retro, the collection currently contains over 5000 images and is being added to continually as the archive is digitized.

StockShop Launches New Royalty Free (RF) Collection

StockShop LLC, an independent stock photography agency based in Boston, announces the addition of a royalty-free (RF) image collection to its website. This new collection includes over 5000 images, and gives customers another option for viewing and purchasing images. Unlike rights-managed images, royalty-free images allow the customer to pay a one-time fee for the rights to use a specific image multiple times, with the price directly related to file size. The addition of royalty-free images will be a huge plus for StockShop. The company plans to re-categorize 30% of its current inventory to be royalty-free, as well as, actively seek new content specifically for the new collection.

Alamy Opens US Office

Alamy, the world’s largest and most comprehensive online stock photo agency, continues to generate vital industry growth with the opening of a US office in New York City. Based in Brooklyn, the US sales team offers personal and tailored service to US customers, and will continue to expand Alamy’s dynamic community of clients and contributors across the region.

Young Photographers Alliance debuts in Chicago

The Young Photographers Alliance (YPA) made its debut in Chicago at Picturehouse’s 4th annual event held on Thursday April 16, 2009 at the River East Art Center. YPA is the creation of Jerry Tavin, co-founder of IC Worldwide (www.icworldwide.com) and Deborah Free, President of Picturehouse Marketing US/Visual Connections (www.picturehouse-us.com). Both are widely-recognized as advocates and leaders in the photography industry. Founded as an international not-for-profit educational foundation, YPA is focused on bringing disadvantaged students opportunities for advancement in photography. In addition to two scholarships already provided by Jerry Tavin and Picturehouse, Alamy (www.alamy.com), pledged a third scholarship for the 2009 recipients.

Picturehouse Chicago a Sold-Out Success

Picturehouse Chicago, held on Wednesday, April 16, 2009, was a sell-out for the fourth consecutive year. Photo agencies from around the world exhibited their collections at the River East Art Center to hundreds of area creatives who streamed through the venue. A breakdown of attendees by segment revealed advertising and design buyers were the largest group at 42%. In addition, book publishing buyers formed 15%; magazines and newspapers 9%; educational buyers 9%; with the remaining 25% of attendees falling into other miscellaneous buying categories.